Department for Education

Schools: Harlow

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in Harlow have received funding from the (a) Condition Improvement Fund scheme and (b) £560 million of capital funding for school repairs and upgrades announced by the Prime Minister on 29 June 2020.

Nick Gibb: Schools and those responsible for school buildings receive condition funding through different routes depending on their size and type. Local authorities, larger multi-academy trusts (MATs) and large voluntary aided school bodies, such as dioceses, receive a School Condition Allocation (SCA) to invest in priorities across the schools for which they are responsible. Smaller or stand-alone academy trusts, other voluntary aided schools and sixth form colleges are able to bid to the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF). All schools are also allocated devolved formula capital to spend on small projects that meet their own priorities.In financial year 2020-21, an additional £560 million of funding was allocated through SCAs and CIF, on top of over £1.4 billion in condition funding already committed this year. Of the £560 million, £182 million was allocated through CIF.Four schools in Harlow initially benefitted from four projects being funded through CIF in 2020-21. A further three schools and three projects were successful, following the announcement of the additional funding, bringing the total to seven schools and seven projects.As SCA funding is paid to bodies that span constituency boundaries, and decisions on investing in individual schools are taken at a local level, it is not possible to confirm how much SCA has been invested in schools in Harlow in 2020-21.In 2020-21, Essex local authority was allocated £9,689,827 in SCA, including £3,072,985 from the additional £560 million to invest in its maintained schools, including schools in Harlow. Large MATs and large voluntary aided school bodies also received additional SCA funding from the £560 million to invest in schools for which they are responsible.We have allocated £9.5 billion in condition funding since 2015 to maintain and improve school buildings, including the additional £560 million in the financial year 2020-21.Capital allocations and annual CIF outcomes are published on GOV.UK.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the resources available to vaccine manufacturers seeking to keep up with emerging variants of covid-19.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Government is undertaking laboratory work as a priority to better understand the impact of the new Covid-19 variants on the vaccines currently in deployment, in particular the risk of vaccine resistance. We maintain close contact with vaccine developers to understand their efficacy studies of their vaccines on variants and the impact on current supply chain arrangements for their manufacture. We continue to take a portfolio-based approach that monitors the landscape of Covid-19 vaccine development and we remain confident that the three vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford University/AstraZeneca, and Moderna) that we have purchased, which have been authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, will continue to be effective against the virus. The Government has also established a new partnership with the vaccine manufacturer, CureVac, to rapidly develop new vaccines in response to new Covid-19 variants, should this be needed. The new agreement will utilise UK expertise on genomics and virus sequencing to allow new varieties of vaccines based on messenger RNA technology to be developed quickly against new strains of Covid-19 if they are needed. An initial order has been made for 50 million doses.

Conditions of Employment: Coronavirus

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on employers insisting that employees receive a covid-19 vaccination to (a) remain employed and (b) receive employment.

Paul Scully: Scientists are united that the vaccine offers the best form of protection against the virus but it is not compulsory - the UK operates a system of informed consent for vaccinations. Demand has been extremely high with more than 13 million people having been vaccinated by 10 February.

Paternity Leave

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the rules on shared parental leave have to be legally the same for men and women working at the same company.

Paul Scully: Parents who are eligible for Shared Parental Leave and Statutory Shared Parental Pay have the flexibility to share up to 50 weeks of Leave and 37 weeks of Statutory Pay between them, as they see fit. Both parents can use Shared Parental Leave to take leave in blocks separated by periods of work, or take it all in one go. They can also choose to be off work together or to stagger the leave and pay. For both parents, Shared Parental Pay is paid at the rate of £151.20 a week or 90% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Some employers may wish to offer occupational parental schemes for men and women taking shared parental leave, beyond the statutory requirements. The Shared Parental Leave and Pay: Employer’s technical guide published on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/shared-parental-leave-and-pay-employers-technical-guide) clearly states that it if an occupational scheme is offered to a mother on Shared Parental Leave, it could constitute sex discrimination if such an occupational scheme were not offered to fathers/a mother’s partner.

Parental Leave

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps the Government has taken to ensure that couples sign up to the Shared Parental Leave scheme.

Paul Scully: The Government has run significant communications campaigns to promote Shared Parental Leave to parents and employers. We are also currently developing a new online tool to help parents plan Shared Parental Leave and Pay. The tool will be available in the coming months and will make it easier for parents to access the scheme. In addition, the Government is currently evaluating the Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme in order to better understand the barriers and enablers to parents taking Shared Parental Leave. This evaluation has included commissioning and interrogating information collected through large scale, representative, surveys of employers and parents and a qualitative study of parents who have used the scheme. We intend to publish our findings later this year.

Paternity Leave

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of shared parental leave is currently taken by the male partner in heterosexual couples.

Paul Scully: The Government is currently conducting an evaluation of the Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme which has included commissioning and interrogating information collected through large scale, representative, surveys of employers and parents and a qualitative study of parents who have used the scheme. We intend to publish our findings later this year and will then be in a position to share detailed data on the scheme.

Additional Restrictions Grant: Harlow

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding under the Additional Restrictions Grant has been allocated to Harlow Council.

Paul Scully: The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) was announced in November 2020 to support businesses in England that are not mandated to close but are severely affected by Covid-19 restrictions. An initial £1.1 billion was allocated to Local Authorities to deliver to businesses under this scheme, and a further £500 million in top-up ARG funding was announced in response to the national restrictions that began on 5 January. This funding is shared between all Local Authorities and they have the discretion to use the ARG scheme to help businesses in the way they see fit. We are working closely with Local Authorities to ensure that support is delivered to businesses that are in scope as quickly as possible. We are not able to share a breakdown of the funding allocated and distributed by Harlow Council at this stage. We will publish information on the scheme as a whole in due course.

Weddings: Coronavirus

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment has been made of the effect the number of guests allowed to attend weddings when the sector reopens will have on the sector's financial viability.

Paul Scully: I meet regularly with the industry-led Weddings Taskforce to understand the impact of COVID-19 on wedding businesses and jobs in the sector. As my Rt Hon friend the Prime Minister has said, we intend to publish our plan for taking the country out of lockdown in the last week of February.

Renewable Energy

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of Ofgem’s proposed reforms to network charging on renewable energy development (a) in Scotland and (b) across the UK.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the reforms in Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review on renewable energy development (a) in Scotland and (b) across the UK.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Network charging is a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator. Ofgem is leading two major charging reforms: the Targeted Charging Review (TCR), where final decisions were announced in December 2019; and the Access and Forward Looking Charges Significant Code Review (Access SCR), which is ongoing. Collectively, this programme of work seeks to ensure that regulatory and market arrangements reflect and enable the energy system transition, as we move towards net zero emissions, and that consumers benefit from the changes. Ofgem’s TCR reforms seek to ensure all parties connected to the electricity network make a fair contribution to its fixed costs, and it has published an analysis of the expected impacts at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/electricity/transmission-networks/charging/targeted-charging-review-significant-code-review . This analysis indicates that the reforms could affect the investment decisions of some renewable energy projects across Scotland and GB more widely, but also suggests that overall the combined impact of the TCR changes will reduce carbon emissions compared with no reforms. Ofgem’s Access SCR is seeking to ensure the electricity network is used efficiently and flexibly, allowing consumers to benefit from new technologies and services. Ofgem is currently developing proposals, and intends to consult on these later this year. It will publish an impact assessment alongside that consultation.

Ofgem

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Energy White Paper, on what date his Department plans to begin consulting on a Strategy and Policy Statement for Ofgem.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Energy White Paper, what the objectives are of the Strategy and Policy Statement for Ofgem.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Energy White Paper, whether the Strategy and Policy Statement for Ofgem is planned to include an assessment of the effectiveness of Scotland's Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Energy White Paper, whether the Strategy and Policy Statement for Ofgem is planned to align that organisation’s objectives with the Climate Change Act 2008 (2050 Target Amendment) Order 2019.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: As we said in the Energy White Paper, we will consult later this year on a Strategy and Policy Statement (SPS) for Ofgem. The Energy Act 2013 sets out the procedural requirements for designating a SPS, which includes consultation with Scottish and Welsh Ministers. The SPS will set out the strategic priorities of our energy policy, the outcomes we seek to achieve and the roles of government, Ofgem and other parties which are collectively responsible for delivering these goals. The SPS will require the Secretary of State and Ofgem to carry out their regulatory functions in a manner which is consistent with securing the government’s policy outcomes. This will include the UK’s legally binding target of net zero emissions by 2050, noting the separate targets in Scotland and Wales. Ofgem’s principal duty is to protect the interests of existing and future consumers, which includes their interests in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Warm Home Discount Scheme: Coronavirus

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that people most adversely affected by the covid-19 pandemic receive the warm home discount to which they are entitled.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: This winter (2020/21), around 1 million Pension Credit Guarantee Credit recipients will receive the rebate automatically on their energy bills, as a result of data matching between the Department for Work and Pensions and participating energy suppliers. A further 200,000 low income pensioners, who meet some of the eligibility criteria, will receive a letter from Government encouraging them to claim via a dedicated helpline if they meet the remaining criteria. Of these, over 45,000 have claimed a rebate through calling the helpline so far. To make sure that all eligible pensioners claim the support to which they are rightly entitled, in 2020 Government ran a nationwide 12-week campaign to raise awareness of Pension Credit, and launched a new online claim service, which improves access. In addition to the Core Group, over 1.1 million vulnerable and low income households will also receive a Warm Home Discount rebate through the Broader Group, which is administered by energy suppliers. To help vulnerable energy customers during the pandemic, Government negotiated a Voluntary Agreement with energy suppliers, to support customers impacted by COVID-19 who may be struggling with their energy bills and help to keep them on supply. Additionally, the Energy Price Cap has continued to protect around 15 million households on default and prepayment meter tariffs. Government also operates other schemes, such as the Cold Weather Payments and Winter Fuel Payment, which help vulnerable households with their winter energy costs.

Fracking

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the proppant squeeze process is prohibited under the Government's moratorium on fracking in relation to seismic activity.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Ministerial Statement of 4 November 2019 makes clear that the moratorium on fracking applies to operations that require Hydraulic Fracturing Consent. The definition of associated hydraulic fracturing is used for the purposes of Hydraulic Fracturing Consent, as set out under section 4A of the Petroleum Act 1998 (inserted by Section 50 of the Infrastructure Act 2015). This definition was based on the approach taken by the European Commission, which defines high-volume hydraulic fracturing as involving the injection into a well of 1000m3 or more of water per fracturing stage or 10000m3 or more of water during the entire fracturing process. Activities outside of this definition are not included in the moratorium.

Department of Health and Social Care

Social Services: Vacancies

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on filling vacancies in the social care sector.

Helen Whately: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment (Mims Davies MP) and I met last year to discuss social care recruitment and we are continuing to work closely with the Department for Work and Pensions on filling vacancies in the social care sector. For example, we are providing resources to jobcentre work coaches to help them promote adult social care careers to jobseekers, including those who may have lost their jobs during the pandemic from other sectors that have been hard hit, such as tourism, hospitality and retail In addition, in order to attract more people to the sector we ran a national recruitment campaign across broadcast, digital and social media. The current phase of the campaign, which launched in February, highlights the vital role that the social care workforce has played during the pandemic, along with the longer-term opportunity of working in care.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to UK Covid-19 Vaccines Delivery Plan published on 11 January 2021, what the timetable is for the use of the mobile model to deliver the covid-19 vaccine to people experiencing homelessness.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Government is following the independent advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which agrees priority groupings for vaccine. Anyone who is homeless and falls into these groups is eligible for the vaccine and we are working closely with partners to ensure they can access it. NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with voluntary community and social enterprise partners, inclusion health providers and others to develop an accessible model for delivery of the vaccine to people from inclusion health populations. As a result of having two vaccines now deployable, we are considering a number of options and will co-design these with partners based on the different local and logistical considerations. In the immediate period we are asking partners to support their clients and service users to register with a general practice, where they are not already and if they have health conditions that would make them clinically vulnerable/clinically extremely vulnerable that this is recorded to ensure they receive the vaccine in line with the JCVI’s advice on prioritisation. Over the coming weeks we will consider a range of possible delivery models, including mobile models, to ensure all those prioritised in accordance with the JCVI’s advice receive the vaccine at the appropriate time regardless of their circumstance.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the UK's (a) financial and (b) vaccine transfer commitments are to the World Health Organisation’s COVAX programme.

Nadhim Zahawi: The United Kingdom remains committed to ensuring equitable access to effective vaccines as demonstrated by our £548 million contribution to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment - the international initiative to support global equitable access to vaccines. Through match funding, the commitment was leveraged to encourage other donors to commit $1 billion in 2020. The COVAX facility will aim to begin delivery by the end of February 2021 and we are working with international partners to support its rollout. It is too early to determine how many doses of the vaccines that the UK has ordered will not be needed for domestic use. We are working through multilateral institutions, such as the United Nations and G20, as well as the World Health Organization and other international partners like the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Gavi the Vaccine Alliance to support vaccine development, manufacturing scale-up and distribution to meet domestic and international needs both now and in the future.

Coronavirus: Students

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will introduce mass-testing for covid-19 for students that wish to return home for Christmas.

Helen Whately: To support the return home of students in December we provided universities with rapid lateral flow tests. Students were asked to get tested twice during the first week of December using lateral flow devices. If they received two negative tests, they were advised to return home immediately. Should a student have tested positive they would have to self-isolate for 10 days, still with enough time to return home for Christmas.

Obesity: Surgery

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have undergone gastric bypass surgery to treat type 2 diabetes.

Jo Churchill: The information is not available in the format requested.It is not possible to determine from collected data whether the gastric bypass surgical procedures were undertaken in order to treat type 2 diabetes.

Mental Illness: Children

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children reported to English A&E departments with a mental health crisis in (a) 2019 and (b) 2020.

Ms Nadine Dorries: This information is not available in the format requested. The data is only available as number of attendances, as an individual may have more than one attendance in any given period.

Special Educational Needs: Coronavirus

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many covid-19 outbreaks there have been in special education schools since the start of 2021.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Since 4 January 2021, there have been 89 confirmed COVID-19 clusters or outbreaks in schools serving children with special educational needs reported to Public Health England.

Coronavirus: Quarantine

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of people successfully reached by the Isolation Assurance Service.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Between 9 June and 7 September 2020, the Isolation Assurance Service (IAS) made 149,579 total calls and texts resulting in 66,773 successful contacts to eligible arrivals. The IAS activity includes up to three calls and a text per eligible United Kingdom arrival sampled. This is the most recent data published in the format requested.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Nickie Aiken: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he publish a comparative estimate of the contribution of (a) personal care settings such as hair and beauty salons, barbershops and in mobile services and (b) hospitality and leisure sectors to the covid-19 R rate.

Ms Nadine Dorries: It is not possible to systematically identify where infection occurs in individual positive cases definitive data on the different locations where transmissions occur is not available.

Sodium Valproate

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review report First Do No Harm, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing redress separately to the Patient Reference Group to support people harmed by Valproate.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Government is currently making a thorough assessment of recommendation 4 of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review (IMMDS Review), which relates to individual redress schemes, for sodium valproate, primodos and vaginal mesh. We will be responding in full later in 2021.The purpose of the Patient Reference Group, which was part of recommendation 9 of the Review, is to ensure that patient voices are heard as we move towards the full response. It will look at implementation of the IMMDS Review as a whole.

Coronavirus: Liverpool City Region

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the public health guidance underpinning the decision to close (a) leisure centres and gyms, (b) casinos and betting shops and (c) pubs and bars in the Liverpool City Region in response to the imposition of the tier 3 local covid alert level.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) provides advice to the Department and considered the risks of transmission through different routes and environments, including leisure centres, gyms, casinos and betting shops. SAGE’s paper is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/933225/S0824_SARS-CoV-2_Transmission_routes_and_environments.pdf A national impact assessment on the potential effect of COVID-19 restrictions on transmission across the country, including in the Liverpool City region, is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/925856/S0770_NPIs_table__pivot_.pdf The Government also published scientific evidence regarding transmission risk in the hospitality sector, particularly pubs and bars, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transmission-risk-in-the-hospitality-sector/transmission-risk-in-the-hospitality-sector

Coronavirus: Death

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support families and individuals who have lost a loved one to covid-19.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Since March 2020, the Government has given over £10.2 million to mental health charities, including bereavement support charities, to support adults and children struggling with their mental wellbeing due to the impact of COVID-19. This includes funding for bereavement support helplines, counselling and signposting services, ensuring that grieving families and individuals who have lost loved ones have access to the bereavement support they need, when they need it. We continue to take a cross-Government approach to assess what is needed to provide support to bereaved families and individuals during this difficult time.

Coronavirus: Casinos

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what scientific evidence the Government has received on the effect of casinos on the transmission of covid-19.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We do know that the virus spreads readily in any indoor environment where members of different households and/or support bubbles spend time together, so the transmission risk in indoor settings, such as casinos, remains high. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies provided advice to the Department and considered the risks of transmission through different routes and environments in a paper which is available at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/933225/S0824_SARS-CoV-2_Transmission_routes_and_environments.pdf

Coronavirus: Gyms

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of covid-19 cases linked directly to gyms in the Liverpool City Region area.

Ms Nadine Dorries: No such estimate has been made.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the criteria is for an area to given a Tier 4 covid-19 lockdown designation.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Decisions on tiers are made by Ministers based on public health recommendations from senior clinical and scientific advisors, guided by five key indicators - the case detection rate in all age groups, case detection rates among the over 60 year olds, the rate at which case rates are rising or falling, positivity rate and pressures on the National Health Service. Final decisions on tiering are made by the COVID-19 Operations Committee.As of 6 January, all areas have been moved into tier 4 and the Government will review the tiering allocations every 14 days.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of covid-19 transmission rates by sectors of employment.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Estimates of the numbers of COVID-19 cases linked directly to different sectors of employment is not yet available. The Joint Biosecurity Centre, working with the Health and Safety Executive and Public Health England, is currently assessing outbreaks of COVID-19 across employment sectors on an ongoing basis. This will be made publicly available on completion of that assessment.

Coronavirus: Households

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the covid-19 lockdown rules that allow children to move between households in the UK in order to see their parents, whether parents who live abroad need to self-isolate to see their children.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Parents who live abroad must self-isolate when they enter the United Kingdom from any country except Ireland, unless they have a valid exemption. If they need to self-isolate, they may be able to pay for a COVID-19 test which may reduce the self-isolation period.

Coronavirus: Gyms

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the scientific advice he received on closing gyms in tier 3 covid-19 areas.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We know that the virus spreads readily in any indoor environment where members of different households and/or support bubbles spend time together, so the transmission risk in indoor settings, such as gyms, remains high. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies provided advice to the Department and considered the risks of transmission through different routes and environments in a paper which is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/933225/S0824_SARS-CoV-2_Transmission_routes_and_environments.pdf A national impact assessment on the potential effect of COVID-19 restrictions on transmission across the country, including in tier 3 areas, is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/925856/S0770_NPIs_table__pivot_.pdf

Surgical Mesh Implants

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2020 to Question 73681 on specialist treatment centres for victims of the vaginal mesh scandal, if he will make it his policy to (a) reimburse and (b) otherwise defray the reasonable relevant (i) travel, (ii) accommodation, (iii) prescription and (iv) medical appliance costs incurred by NHS patients having to travel substantially out of area to obtain specialist treatment; and if he will list those treatment centres (A) already and (B) scheduled to be established, together with the operational dates in each case.

Ms Nadine Dorries: From 1 April 2021, the following trusts will provide specialised services for women with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse:- Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust- Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust- Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust- University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS TrustNHS England will establish services in South East and South West regions as soon as possible.All health care costs associated with treatment are met by the National Health Service. This includes in-patient services, medical assessment, treatment, surgery if appropriate, outpatient services and follow-up. There are no current plans to provide for repayments of travel expenses or accommodation outside the scope of the existing Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme which is provided for in the NHS (Travel Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations 2003. The Government also has no plans to review or amend the list of medical conditions that provide entitlement to exemption from prescription charges.

Coronavirus: Liverpool City Region

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what impact assessment has been undertaken on the potential effect of the tier 3 covid-19 restrictions on the transmission of covid-19 in the Liverpool City Region; and what further support he will provide to health and social care services in that region.

Ms Nadine Dorries: A national impact assessment on the potential effect of COVID-19 restrictions on transmission across the country, including in the Liverpool City region, is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/925856/S0770_NPIs_table__pivot_.pdf The Government is supporting councils, including the Liverpool City region, by allocating over £8 billion of funding for the pandemic within England.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what evidence there is that lockdowns reduce the transmission of covid-19.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The success of restrictions rests on them reducing the number of contacts between infected and susceptible individuals within the population, thereby reducing the number of infections. Mobility and payment data in April 2020, November 2020 and in recent days show substantial declines in the number of contacts leading to lower numbers of COVID-19 infections in spring last year and in the second half of November 2020. The Office for National Statistics’ COVID-19 Infection Survey shows that prevalence has recently fallen from its late-December peaks. The lagged fall in hospitalisations and deaths provides good evidence of a causal link between lockdowns and reduction in transmission of the virus.

Mental Health Services: Accident and Emergency Departments

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish statistics on the number of A&E attendances for mental health reasons in each month since March 2020.

Ms Nadine Dorries: From April 2020 publication of accident and emergency data was transferred to the Emergency Care Data Set which is currently provisional. The annual publication for 2020-21, including data on accident and emergency attendances from April 2020 to March 2021, is currently scheduled for September 2021.

Coronavirus: Screening

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of not requiring covid-19 testing for hospital discharges into the community where care is not required on rates of community covid-19 transmission.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies assessed the effect that discharging patients from hospital into the community without testing had on COVID-19 community infection rates. They found that while it had a high impact during the first wave of COVID-19 infections, it was less likely to do so during a second wave, due to the improved infection control measures implemented in hospitals.

Primary Health Care: Prisons

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of publishing an evaluation of the benefits of wing-based primary care in prisons, including (a) an identification of examples of excellence, and (b) recommendations relating to the future model of healthcare after covid-19 restrictions are ended.

Ms Nadine Dorries: No such assessment has been made.

Coronavirus: Industrial Health and Safety

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the risks to tradespeople working in other people's homes of contracting covid-19; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Nadine Dorries: No such assessment has been made.

Coronavirus: Funerals

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps funeral directors need to take to remain compliant with the law on mourner limits when helping families organise funerals, in addition to complying with guidance published by the National Association of Funeral Directors.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Those responsible for organising a funeral must take all reasonable steps to ensure the event takes place in a safe and secure way that complies with all relevant legislation, including around attendance. A funeral director should notify the police if they reasonably believe that the numbers attending are likely to breach the legal limits despite their best efforts to prevent this or the numbers in attendance have unexpectedly exceeded the legal limits.

Eating Disorders: Mental Health Services

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2021 to Question 137278, what plans he has to publish implementation learnings from the eight sites which have received additional funding to improve the adult eating disorders pathway in 2021-22.

Ms Nadine Dorries: NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently reviewing whether to publish learnings from the early implementer sites.

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Rehabilitation

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to statistics on alcohol and drug treatment in secure settings 2019 to 2020, published on 28 January 2021, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the (a) decrease in the proportion of young people completing substance misuse treatment in secure settings and( b) increase in the proportion of young people declining substance misuse treatment.

Ms Nadine Dorries: No such assessment has been made.NHS England and NHS Improvement are responsible for the commissioning of substance misuse services within secure and detained settings. In addition to structured treatment, unstructured treatment is also provided which can include harm reduction advice, brief interventions, mutual aid groups and signposting and information. This is not reported in National Drug Treatment Monitoring System data.

NHS: Drugs

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking support the (a) Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Authority and (b) other relevant regulatory authorities in the (i) EU and (ii) US to collaborate with those developing New Approach Methodologies in support of decisions on (A) the progression of drugs into clinical trials, (B) drug licensing and labelling and (c) providing evidence demonstrating the scientific validity and human clinical relevance of NAM data to regulatory scientists.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Government encourages the development of in vitro methods in place of animal testing and the development and use of new tests and alternative methods to the use of animal tests.In accordance the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the principle of the ‘3Rs’ - Replacement, Refinement and Reduction - needs to be considered when selecting testing approaches to be used for regulatory testing of human and veterinary medicinal products. The challenge to academia, industry and regulatory scientists is to remain focused on designing nonclinical studies in relevant models, including New Approach Methodologies (NAM), to answer specific questions in time to support clinical decision making and communication of potential risks.Maintaining effective dialogue among scientists in academia, industry and regulatory agencies during model development, qualification and validation will be essential to address this challenge. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency works closely with the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research and other regulatory agencies to identify opportunities for the ‘3Rs’.

Mental Health Services

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of (a) speech, language and communication needs and (b) dysphagia among adults accessing (i) community mental health services and (ii) secure mental health services.

Ms Nadine Dorries: No such assessment has been made.

Telecommunications Systems: Alarms

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of personal alarm pendants used by elderly and vulnerable people that will be affected by the switch off of the Public Switched Telephone Network.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We are working closely with affected industries to support preparations for the switch off of the Public Switched Telephone Network. Through NHSX, this includes collaboration with sector representative bodies including the Technology Enabled Care Services Association (TSA). The TSA’s work in this area indicates there are approximately 1.7 million users of telecare who may be impacted.

National Cancer Screening Programmes in England Review

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish an implementation plan for Prof. Sir Mike Richards' review of NHS diagnostics capacity.

Edward Argar: Professor Sir Mike Richards’ recommendations have been accepted by the NHS England and NHS Improvement Board. There is no intention to publish an implementation plan. However, a national Diagnostics Programme has been established to take forward the recommendations. This work will be overseen by the NHS England and NHS Improvement Diagnostics Programme Board.The Government has ringfenced £325 million of capital spending for National Health Service diagnostics and equipment through the 2020 Spending Review to support implementation.

Health Services: Yorkshire and the Humber

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS spent on purchasing healthcare from non-NHS providers in Yorkshire and the Humber region in (a) 2010 and (b) 2020.

Edward Argar: The information requested is not held centrally.

Health Services: Children

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children's medical procedures in England have been cancelled in each month since March 2019 by (a) NHS Trust and (b) Clinical Commissioning Group area.

Edward Argar: This data is not held in the format requested.

Surgery: Coronavirus

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the number of non-urgent operations cancelled during the covid-19 outbreak.

Edward Argar: The collection of data on cancelled elective operations has been paused to support the COVID-19 response, therefore no assessment has been made.

Coronavirus: Research

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support long-term research studies on covid-19 immunity.

Edward Argar: The Government, through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation are jointly funding the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium to address key questions around the immune system’s response to COVID-19.We are also supporting immunity studies in specific groups, including the SARS-CoV-2 Immunity and Reinfection EvaluatioN (SIREN) study in health care workers and the Vivaldi study in care home residents and workers. The NIHR’s Health Protection Research Unit in Respiratory Infections is also looking at the size and longevity of the immune response.

Coronavirus: Death

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many social care workers have died from covid-19 (a) in total and (b) since 1 January 2021.

Helen Whately: Mortality data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that 446 deaths involving COVID-19 among social care workers were registered in England and 23 in Wales, between 9 March 2020 and 28 December 2020. This data was recently published on 25 January 2021.There is currently no data published beyond 28 December 2020 relating to care worker deaths from COVID-19. The next analysis by the ONS on this topic has not yet been scheduled.

Supported Housing: Coronavirus

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department taking to ensure that lateral flow testing is rolled out to visitors to supported living settings.

Helen Whately: We recognise that in supported living environments, the accommodation is the person’s own home and that for many people in supported living, there are important reasons for having in-person visits. Our guidance for supported living settings includes guidance on visiting safely, and is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supported-living-services-during-coronavirus-covid-19/covid-19-guidance-for-supported-livingWe currently do not offer any lateral flow testing for visitors in supported living settings. However, this is under review. Our testing strategy is based on clinical advice about relative priorities and developed in consultation with the sector to ensure any testing programmes are practical, deliverable and meet the needs of both carers and people receiving care.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many care homes have experienced outbreaks of covid-19 in each week since the start of the outbreak.

Helen Whately: Since 8 October 2020, Public Health England has published data on COVID-19 in care homes as part of its wider national flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports which are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reportsThe data on care homes reports on the weekly percentage of new cases in care homes. Data on the number of new cases are published alongside the report in the supplementary tables.

Autism and Learning Disability

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism have the right care and support available and in place to prevent the need for hospital admissions.

Helen Whately: The NHS Long Term Plan commits to an extra £4.5 billion a year for primary care and community health services by 2023/24 to enable more people to receive personalised care in the community and reduce preventable admissions to inpatient services. This will include developing seven-day specialist multidisciplinary services and crisis care. In the Reforming the Mental Health Act white paper, published in January 2021, we propose reducing the number of circumstances in which someone with a learning disability or an autistic person could be detained under the Act. We also propose creating new duties on commissioners to ensure that there are sufficient community-based services to support people with a learning disability and autistic people.

Care Homes: Visits

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to allow the resumption of close contact care home visits; and if he will make a statement.

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will set out a timetable for the re-introduction of close contact care home visits in England.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will set out a timetable for the re-introduction of close contact care home visits in England.

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will announce a timetable for the re-introduction of close contact care home visits in England.

Helen Whately: In the face of a new variant of the virus we have acted to protect those most at risk in care homes and while advising how visits can go ahead safely in some form. As set out in updated visiting guidance, visits to care homes can continue to take place with arrangements such as substantial screens, visiting pods or behind windows. Close-contact indoor visits are not currently advised. As has been the case throughout the pandemic, visits in exceptional circumstances including end of life should always be supported and enabled. We recognise how important it is to allow care home residents to meet their loved ones safely. We are looking to enable a wider range of visiting arrangements available when it is safe to do so. We will publish updated guidance as this period of national restrictions ends.

Care Homes: Protective Clothing

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy for staff in care home settings to wear medical grade personal protective equipment of the standard required in the NHS.

Helen Whately: The United Kingdom-wide Infection, Prevention, Control guidance for the National Health Service and for care home settings recommends the same standard of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the NHS and in care homes. The Government provides free medical grade PPE to the health and social care sector for COVID-19 needs in line with this guidance.The Government committed to the provision of free medical grade PPE for the COVID-19 needs of the adult social care sector until March 2021. The scheme has now been extended until June 2021.

Coronavirus: Screening

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure home care staff are able to access regular covid-19 testing.

Helen Whately: On 23 November 2020, we began offering Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered domiciliary care organisations access to regular, weekly COVID-19 testing for their carers looking after people in their own homes.Those working for CQC registered organisations are able to access weekly polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to administer at home, which will help identify more asymptomatic cases and protect care recipients who are more vulnerable to COVID-19.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the (a) availability of covid-19 testing for home care staff, including (i) priority access to PCR testing in the event of being symptomatic and (ii) regular rapid lateral-flow testing and (b) risks to people being for cared of their carers not having access to those tests.

Helen Whately: On 23 November 2020, we began offering Care Quality Commission registered domiciliary care organisations access to regular, weekly COVID-19 testing for their carers looking after people in their own homes. This will help identify more asymptomatic cases and protect care recipients who are more vulnerable to COVID-19.We will be expanding testing further to all other homecare workers, including live in carers and personal assistants. We will provide further details in due course about how these groups can access testing.

Care Homes: Visits

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government's care home visitor key worker scheme, whether visitors are planned to receive the same (a) access to testing and (b) PPE as care home staff.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of assigning essential partners designation to family caregivers to enable care home visits to take place.

Helen Whately: In December 2020, we rolled-out testing and personal protective equipment to care homes nationwide for use by visitors to enable more meaningful, indoor visits. Close-contact visits facilitated by testing are currently not advised during this period of national lockdown. We will review the guidance when the period of national lockdown ends and look to open up more opportunities for visiting when it is safe to do so.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Western Sahara: Human Rights

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UN commission announced in 2016 on the situation in Guerguerat, Western Sahara issued a report.

James Cleverly: UN reports on Western Sahara can be found on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) website: https://minurso.unmissions.org/secretary-general-reports

Western Sahara: Trade Agreements

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer to Question 142046, on Western Sahara: Trade Agreements, whether the EU (a) consulted the UN recognised representatives of the Saharawi people and (b) asked for consent.

James Cleverly: The European Commission's report, which includes the list of stakeholders consulted, can be found here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=SWD:2018:346:FIN&from=FR(opens%20in%20a%20new%20tab)

South Sudan: Elections

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that elections in South Sudan take place in line with the timetable outlined in the Peace Agreement.

James Duddridge: Despite significant delays to implementation of the 2018 Agreement, including a nine month delay in forming the Transitional Government of National Unity, the UK welcomes recent progress, notably finalising state governor appointments. Alongside our Troika partners (US and Norway), we continue to encourage South Sudan's leaders, including President Kiir and First Vice-President Machar, to expedite implementation, including setting the conditions for elections, ensuring a lasting end to violence and addressing the grave humanitarian crisis. As I [Minister Duddridge] made clear during a visit to South Sudan in October 2020, all parties must work together to create the conditions needed for elections to take place, including political progress and improvements to the security situation. More recently, the Foreign Secretary and I [Minister Duddridge] discussed stability issues including South Sudan with President Kenyatta on 20 January, given the important role of regional partners in supporting delivery of the 2018 Agreement. The UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan discusses these issues regularly with international and regional partners, including IGAD, Sudan, and with President Museveni in December 2020.

South Sudan: Politics and Government

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to (a) regional leaders in east and central Africa, (b) the African Union and (c) the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to encourage them to increase their focus on South Sudan.

James Duddridge: South Sudan's best chance of a more stable and prosperous future remains in the full implementation of the Peace Agreement, brokered by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and its members in 2018. Given the important role of the region we remain in close contact to work together to urge the South Sudanese Parties to deliver their commitment to end the conflict. When I visited South Sudan in October 2020, I pushed for political progress in meetings with President Kiir and Vice President Machar, and discussed regional engagement with Ambassador Ismail Wais, IGAD Special Peace Envoy to South Sudan. Most recently the Foreign Secretary and I discussed cooperation on regional stability issues, including South Sudan, with President Kenyatta on 20 January. In addition, the UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan meets regularly with African Union, IGAD and regional partners to ensure the South Sudanese deliver progress on the Peace Agreement and tackle the worsening humanitarian situation. This includes meetings with President Kenyatta in January and with President Museveni in December.

South Sudan: Overseas Aid

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK's aid programme to South Sudan in supporting democratic development in that country.

James Duddridge: The UK has a longstanding role supporting peace and stability in South Sudan through our aid programme, where the dire situation means the majority of UK assistance is targeted at supporting the most vulnerable with humanitarian aid and basic services. For example, in 2019 UK aid reached over 200,000 people with food assistance and one million people with vaccinations for preventable illnesses, while our support to education helps build stability by supporting over 500,000 children to attend school. Beyond this, we also support a number of other initiatives aimed at promoting peace and democratic development in line with the 2018 Peace Agreement. This includes support to grassroots mediation activities via the UK Peacebuilding Opportunities Fund, support to civil society such as the South Sudan Council of Churches and the Association for Media Development in South Sudan, and the UN Mission in South Sudan to which the UK contributed £57.9 million in 2020-21.

South Sudan: Elections

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he has taken to help ensure that free and fair elections can take place in South Sudan in March 2022.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the leaders of South Sudan on (a) the election timetable and (b) improving security within the country.

James Duddridge: Despite significant delays to implementation of the 2018 Agreement, including a nine month delay in forming the Transitional Government of National Unity, the UK welcomes recent progress, notably finalising state governor appointments. Alongside our Troika partners (US and Norway), we continue to encourage South Sudan's leaders, including President Kiir and First Vice-President Machar, to expedite implementation, including setting the conditions for elections, ensuring a lasting end to violence and addressing the grave humanitarian crisis. As I [Minister Duddridge] made clear during a visit to South Sudan in October 2020, all parties must work together to create the conditions needed for elections to take place, including political progress and improvements to the security situation. More recently, the Foreign Secretary and I [Minister Duddridge] discussed stability issues including South Sudan with President Kenyatta on 20 January, given the important role of regional partners in supporting delivery of the 2018 Agreement. The UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan discusses these issues regularly with international and regional partners, including IGAD, Sudan, and with President Museveni in December 2020.

South Sudan: Politics and Government

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on (a) improving the security situation in South Sudan and (b) preventing violent actions by armed groups in that country.

James Duddridge: South Sudan's best chance of a more stable and prosperous future remains in the full implementation of the 2018 Peace Agreement. However, we are concerned at the current slow pace of implementation, which is contributing to recent increases in violence and a worsening humanitarian crisis. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and member of Troika (with Norway and the US), the UK is at the forefront of international efforts to pressure South Sudan's leaders to deliver their commitment to end conflict though implementing the 2018 Agreement. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary and I discussed regional stability issues, including South Sudan, with President Kenyatta on 20 January.The UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan discusses these issues regularly with international and regional partners, including President Kenyatta in January and President Museveni in December. The UK Special Representative is also engaged with ongoing talks under the 'Rome Process' aimed at encouraging the participation of non-signatories to the 2018 Agreement and reduce conflict involving these groups. In addition, we work closely with the UN peacekeeping mission and other partners in-county to bring about much needed improvements to the security situation.

Ministry of Justice

Magistrates' Courts: Urban Areas

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that magistrates' courts are based in town centres.

Chris Philp: Our current magistrates’ court buildings across England and Wales are located in town and city centres, making sure that they are accessible to court users, including by public transport. Access to justice is our top priority when we consider the future location of any court or tribunal building. There are currently no plans to relocate or acquire new magistrates’ court buildings. The HMCTS Court and Tribunal Design Guide published in 2019 is clear that when choosing any potential future court sites that they offer a suitable location, accessibility, amenity, security, urban context and planning potential.

Offenders and Prisoners: Gambling

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of support for problem gamblers serving (a) custodial and (b) suspended sentences.

Lucy Frazer: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) delivers a broad range of interventions to address individual’s criminogenic risks and needs, including an accredited offending behaviour programme to improve thinking skills. While it was not specifically formulated with problem gambling including addiction in mind, the programme aims to enable participants to be less impulsive, more flexible and less rigid in their thinking. It also tackles a number of the cognitive deficits common to gamblers.A number of prisons provide access and signposting to external, specialist organisations such as Gamblers Anonymous and “Gamcare” or using debt counselling services and services provided through the chaplaincy and education services. In addition, all prisoners are seen by NHS healthcare services on reception and can be referred to addiction services to help address problem gambling.Probation staff also assess individual needs and can assist with referrals to local or national services to address gambling or to access debt counselling services where suitable, including those on suspended sentences. A support guide for staff supervising those with gambling issues has been produced.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to statistics on alcohol and drug treatment in secure settings 2019 to 2020, published on 28 January 2021, if he will make an assessment of the effect on reoffending levels of the finding that 65.5% of adults with a substance misuse treatment need do not successfully engage in community-based structured treatment following release from prison.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) are committed to meeting the health needs of offenders in custody and the community, including those with substance misuse issues. NHS England and NHSE Improvement (NHSE/I) are responsible for commissioning healthcare services in all prisons in England, this includes integrated substance misuse services. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning treatment services in the community. Although there is not a simple linear relationship between the 12-month rate of reoffending among prison leavers in England & Wales, and the proportion of adults with a drug or alcohol dependency who do not engage with treatment programmes following their release from prison, we do recognise that engagement in substance misuse treatment can reduce the likelihood of reoffending. In 2017, a joint MoJ and PHE study[1] found that, over a two-year period following the start of treatment, only 34% of all offenders misusing alcohol, opiates and/or non-opiates who dropped out of treatment did not reoffend, whereas 53% of substance misusing offenders who successfully completed treatment did not reoffend. That is why the government has awarded an additional £80 million to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to fund drug treatment in 2021/22, as part of a £148 million overall funding package for reducing crime. This is the biggest increase in drug treatment funding for 15 years. The £80 million will be used to enhance drug treatment and the numbers of treatment places available, reduce reoffending and tackle the rise in drug-related deaths. Importantly, most of this funding will support delivery of additional services to reduce drug-related crime including treatment places for delivering Community Sentence Treatment Requirements (CSTRs), continuity of care for prison leavers and interventions to reduce drug related deaths. The funding will also include extending the NHS England RECONNECT service, a care after custody service for prison leavers with vulnerabilities, who would otherwise struggle to engage with community health services. Officials across MoJ and HMPPS will continue to work with DHSC and health partners, including on the development of the additional £80m allocation, to ensure substance misuse services meet the needs of the offender cohort, address significant health inequalities in this patient cohort and reduce crime across communities.[1] Ministry of Justice, Public health England (2017). Table 4, page 18, “The Effect of Drug and Alcohol Treatment on re-offending”: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-effect-of-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-on-re-offending

Reoffenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to publish the delayed Proven reoffending statistics: January to March 2019.

Lucy Frazer: A delay to the proven reoffending statistics publication for the January to March 2019 offender cohort, originally scheduled for release on Thursday 28 January 2021, was announced in December 2020. This was due to the late delivery of data which had a subsequent effect on the production of the Police National Computer (PNC) data extract required for producing the proven reoffending statistics. Since this announcement, a new lockdown has been introduced and access to the PNC, a system which can only be accessed via a fixed location in our offices, has been further limited. This has delayed the process of producing the proven reoffending statistics further. A revised publication date will be announced in due course.

Prisoners: Radicalism

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce and prevent (a) radicalisation and (b) extremism in prisons.

Lucy Frazer: The Government takes the threat posed by terrorist offenders very seriously and is committed to tackling radicalisation and terrorism in our prisons.We have a range of capabilities and controls to manage the unique risk posed by terrorist offenders and to prevent them from radicalising others. All risk management is underpinned through specialist counter terrorism case management. This includes rehabilitative tools, which tackle the drivers of radicalisation and seek to draw prisoners away from extremist ideologies.The Joint Extremism Unit (JEXU) is the strategic centre for counter-terrorism work in prisons; since 2017, it has led important investment and improvement in the sector. Over 30,000 prison staff have been trained to identify, report and deal with extremist behaviour in prison. The Government introduced separation centres to manage the risk of a small number of prisoners who may pose a particular risk of radicalising other offenders in the mainstream prison estate.The CT Step Up programme will transform this response in prisons by addressing gaps in our current capabilities. The programme will increase counter-terrorism capability in the system by focusing resource into a number of centres of excellence and specialist functions that can deliver a strengthened set of controls and interventions to terrorist offenders at a pace and scale commensurate to the threat.

Prisons: Sexual Offences

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of sexual assault incidents taking place in prisons.

Lucy Frazer: We take any allegation of sexual assault in prisons extremely seriously and have robust processes in place to ensure such incidents are immediately referred to the police and victims are given the support they need.Our approach to reducing all types of violence in prisons, including sexual assaults, is threefold. First, we know that there is a link between staffing numbers and violence in prison, which is why we continue to take actions to strengthen the frontline and ensure we have the staff they need to ensure the safety of everyone who lives and works in our prisons. Our short term target was to recruit 2,500 extra prison officers and as of 30 September 2020, 3,844 new staff are now in post. This has placed our prisons on a stronger footing and enabled us to begin the rollout of new reforms such as the key worker role, which focuses on supporting individual prisoners.Secondly, it is vital that we ensure our staff have the right support, training and tools to empower them to do their jobs. We are rolling out Trauma Risk Management, a trauma-focused peer support system designed to help people who have experienced a traumatic or potentially traumatic event, and we are currently considering other ways in which we can better support victims of violence in our prisons, including staff. We provide post-incident care teams, occupational health support and counselling for members of staff who are assaulted while doing their jobs.Thirdly, we are investing £100 million to bolster prison security, clamping down on the weapons, drugs and mobile phones that fuel violence, including sexual assaults, and crime behind bars. This is funding tough measures including x-ray body scanners and phone-blocking technology.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Planning: Urban Areas

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to discourage or prohibit edge of town or out of town development.

Christopher Pincher: In order to support the vitality of town centres, the Government has made clear in the National Planning Policy Framework that in the first instance, main town centre uses such as retail should be located in town centres. In some circumstances it may not be possible to accommodate all forecast needs in a town centre, for example if there are physical or other constraints which make it inappropriate to do so. Therefore, it would not be appropriate to prohibit all development of this type outside of existing centres.However, when assessing applications for town centre uses, such as retail, which are proposed in an edge of or out of town location, and those sites have not been identified in a local plan, the Framework sets out that a sequential test should be applied in order to help ensure that development that would have unacceptable implications on existing centres is not permitted.

Construction: Coronavirus

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the (a) health and (b) well-being of residents of the continued relaxation of permitted hours of construction under the Business and Planning Act 2020 during national lockdowns.

Christopher Pincher: As part of the measures to enable the safe reopening of construction sites, temporary flexibilities were introduced through the Business and Planning Act 2020 for a new fast track application route to amend planning restrictions on construction working hours, complemented by a Written Ministerial Statement in May 2020. These measures balance the need to facilitate safe reopening with considerations about the health and amenity effects on those living nearby.

Home Ownership

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to promote home ownership.

Christopher Pincher: First Homes, our new home ownership scheme, will be prioritised for first-time buyers and will allow them to buy a new home with a discount, at least 30 per cent under market value. In some areas, the discounts could be as high as 50 per cent. This will significantly reduce both deposit and mortgage requirements and open up the dream of home ownership to even more people.  Our new Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme from April 2021 to March 2023 will be targeted at helping first-time buyers to get a foot on the property ladder.  As set out in the Conservative manifesto of December 2019, the Government will encourage a market in long-term fixed rate mortgages with low deposits to promote home ownership. We stand ready to work with the sector to explore the possible options to bring these products to market.The Government is committed to supporting the supply of new homes, delivering around 244,000 last year, the highest in over 30 years.We are bringing forward an ambitious near £20 billion investment, including over £12 billion in Affordable Housing over 5 years, and over £7 billion to both unlock new land through the provision of infrastructure and diversify the market through our National Home Building Fund. Alongside our reforms to the planning system, this will deliver the new homes the country needs.

Planning

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to implement his policy of placing beauty at the heart of the built environment.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that placemaking is at the heart of the Government's strategic thinking about development.

Christopher Pincher: Following our response to the report of the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, we are taking action to put beauty and placemaking at the heart of the planning and development process. We have outlined proposals for securing design quality in our White Paper, Planning for the Future and on 30 January, we published for consultation a revised National Planning Policy Framework to make beauty and placemaking strategic policies. The National Model Design Code provides guidance on creating local design codes and we are seeking views on this advice alongside the National Planning Policy Framework consultation. We also intend to create an Office for Place within the next year to champion design and beauty in the planning system and we have made a commitment to strengthen Homes England’s objectives to give greater weight to design quality.

Harlow Council: Local Government Finance

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the uplift in core funding is for Harlow Council in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Luke Hall: Under the annual local government finance settlement, Harlow Council saw their Core Spending Power rise from £11.3 million in 2019/20 to £11.9 million in 2020/21, an increase of £0.6 million. Depending on local decisions, Harlow Council may see their Core Spending Power rise from £11.9 million in 2020/21 to £12.5 million in 2021/22, an increase of £0.5 million.

Planning: Urban Areas

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to rejuvenate town centres.

Luke Hall: This Government is fully committed to supporting the businesses and communities that make our high streets and town centres successful as the nation responds to the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak.Government is working to deliver a package of long-term measures that support town centre regeneration. This includes the £3.6 billion Towns Fund, which will support an initial 101 places across England to secure Town Deals. It will support local areas to renew and reshape town centres and high streets in a way that improves experience, drives growth and ensures future sustainability. In September 2020, we brought forward over £80 million funding in to support immediate improvements in 101 towns selected for deals to “build back better” in the wake of COVID-19.On the 26 December 2020, the Secretary of State confirmed £255 million for fifteen areas from the Future High Streets Fund, with a further 57 areas receiving provisional funding offers totalling up to £576 million.Further, the Government is launching a new Levelling Up Fund. This Fund will invest in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on people and their communities and will support economic recovery. We will publish a prospectus for the Fund soon.We are providing support to local leadership in England with a High Streets Task Force, giving them expert advice to support their high streets and town centres to adapt and thrive. This is providing hands-on support to local areas to develop data-driven innovative strategies and connect local areas to relevant experts, and will operate up to 2024.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Game: Birds

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure Natural England has adequate resources to assess applications to the interim licensing regime for the 2021 to release game birds on or near European protected sites.

Rebecca Pow: Defra is working closely with Natural England to ensure that they have the capacity and capability to assess individual applications for the forthcoming interim licensing regime for pheasants and red-legged partridges on and near European Protected Sites. We will be launching a public consultation on the interim licencing regime shortly.Natural England is very aware of the timeframes involved and the need for decisions to be made promptly to align with the shooting industry's annual calendar of activity.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of Sites of Special Scientific Interest have not received an assessment by Natural England in the last six years.

Rebecca Pow: 3,230 Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) (78% of the total number) have not had a visit to determine their condition in the last six years (since 11 February 2015), recorded on Natural England’s internal systems. Sites are visited for other purposes, such as agri-environment scheme management and to agree onsite activities such as necessary management. In 2010 Natural England adopted a risk-based approach rather than a fixed six-year cycle. Natural England is also developing an approach to the monitoring of SSSIs which will make better use of new technologies, such as remote sensing, and greater partnership involvement, including supporting and encouraging partners in the work they themselves do to undertake SSSI condition assessments.

Sewage: Seas and Oceans

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February to Question 141594 on Sewage, what assessment has he made of the implications of going beyond providing more and better information to reduce frequency and harm of discharges from storm overflows, particularly to offshore public water bodies; and what plans are in place to reduce those discharges.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) industry representatives and (b) stakeholders on reducing the frequency and harm of discharges from storm overflows, particularly into offshore public water bodies.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effectiveness of the Environment Bill in protecting offshore public water bodies from Combined Sewage Overflows (CSOs) and Sanitary Sewage Overflows (SSOs) which are linked to inland rivers and water bodies.

Rebecca Pow: I met water company CEOs last year and made clear that the volume of sewage discharged into rivers and other waterways in extreme weather must be reduced. To achieve this, our new Storm Overflows Taskforce has been established, bringing together representatives from the Government, the water industry, regulators and environmental Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to set out clear proposals to address the harm and frequency of sewage discharged into our rivers and other waterways from storm overflows. As announced on 22 January, this Taskforce has agreed a long-term goal to eliminate harm from storm overflows. This Taskforce has commissioned a research project to gather a comprehensive evidence base about the costs, benefits and feasibility of different options. This research project is due to be completed in the spring. We are also taking key steps through the Environment Bill by requiring sewerage undertakers to produce Drainage and Sewerage Management Plans on a statutory basis. Plans will fully assess network capacity, and set out the measures undertakers plan to take to develop their drainage and sewerage systems. The plans aim to deliver more actions to help sewerage companies better address the risks that some sewerage assets, such as storm overflows, may pose to the environment. Undertakers started developing plans on a non-statutory basis in 2018. We have introduced the requirement for at least one legally binding, water target in the Environment Bill. This target will complement existing regulations and legislation, moving us closer to achieving our goal of clean and plentiful water set out in Defra’s 25 Year Environmental Plan.

Game: Birds

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to review the effect of (a) sport and leisure and (b) other activities on European protected sites; and what other activities will be covered by the interim licencing scheme for release of game birds in 2021.

Rebecca Pow: Natural England, and other competent authorities, have a duty to review consents for activities on areas subsequently designated as European sites, within a reasonable timeframe. We plan to shortly consult on our proposals for the interim licensing of game bird releasing. We are committed to achieving an interim licensing regime which is both effective and workable for users.

Horses: Animal Welfare

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to stop horse tethering in dangerous locations.

Victoria Prentis: This country leads the way in animal welfare, including setting standards for horse welfare. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, all owners and keepers of horses must provide for the welfare needs of their animals. The statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and Their Hybrids provides owners and keepers with general welfare information, including a specific section on the correct choice of site to tether a horse. Whilst it is not an offence to breach the Code, if proceedings are brought against someone for a welfare offence under the 2006 Act, (including failing to tether a horse appropriately) it could be used as evidence in support of those proceedings. In addition, the equine welfare sector promotes good welfare practice through their respective websites and via social media e.g. National Equine Welfare Council’s compendium: http://www.newc.co.uk/advice/.

Air Pollution

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what new powers he plans to afford to local authorities under changes to the local air quality management framework in the Environment Bill.

Rebecca Pow: Local authorities already have a number of powers available to them to tackle air pollution – for example powers to tackle idling and smoke emissions from domestic chimneys. The Environment Bill will improve the local air quality management framework to enable greater local action on air pollution by ensuring that responsibility for addressing air pollution is shared across a wider range of partners. We are amending the Local Air Quality Management Framework so that it brings in neighbouring authorities and where relevant, the Environment Agency, and can be extended to include additional relevant public authorities. Through the Environment Bill we are also making it easier for local authorities to use their existing powers to tackle a major contributor to fine particulate matter emissions – domestic solid fuel burning, and are expanding the scope of the power for local authorities to enable them to tackle smoke emissions from vessels within a smoke control area.

Game: Birds

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to avian influenza, what steps he has taken to ensure gamebird breeders (a) register captive gamebird flocks and (b) comply with all other relevant aspects of legislation.

Victoria Prentis: Defra encourages all keepers to register their birds with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and keep contact details up to date, so APHA can contact them quickly if there is a disease outbreak in their area and they need to take action.If keepers have more than 50 birds, they are legally required to register their flock within one month of their arrival at their premises. If the keeper has less than 50 birds, including pet birds, they are still strongly encouraged to register.Mandatory requirements to register kept gamebirds can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/poultry-including-game-birds-registration-rules-and-forms.The public can register with the APHA alerts service to receive email and text alerts for exotic notifiable diseases, which includes Avian influenza (AI).AI is a notifiable animal disease. If a bird keeper or the public suspect any type of AI in poultry or captive birds they must report it immediately by calling the Defra Rural Services Helpline. Failure to do so is an offence and enforced by local authorities.An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) has been declared across the whole of England. The AIPZ means all bird keepers in England (whether they have pet birds, captive gamebirds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a backyard flock) are required by law to take a range of biosecurity precautions including from the 14 December 2020 keeping their birds indoors except in very specific circumstances.Further details of the measures that apply in the AIPZ including biosecurity guidance and housing measures can be found on GOV.UK.

Nappies: Recycling

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce minimum environmental standards for reusable nappies.

Rebecca Pow: In line with our Resources and Waste Strategy, we are seeking powers, through the Environment Bill that will enable us to, where appropriate and subject to consultation, to introduce ecodesign standards and consumer information requirements for products. We will decide on priority products taking on board relevant evidence.We have commissioned an updated Life Cycle Analysis of the impacts of disposable versus washable nappies to help inform any future policy interventions on nappies.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest: Environment Protection

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Compliance Certificates have been issued under paragraph 5 of Schedule 4 to the Environmental Civil Sanctions (England) Order 2010 discharging the 50 Enforcement Undertakings that Natural England has accepted relating to SSSIs.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times Natural England has (a) served a (i) variable monetary penalty notice, (ii) compliance notice, (iii) restoration notice and (b) brought criminal proceedings in response to non-compliance with Enforcement Undertakings relating to SSSIs.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps Natural England has taken to ensure that the five Stop Notices in respect of which Completion Certificates have not been issued according to Natural England’s Register of Enforcement are complied with.

Rebecca Pow: In response to the 50 enforcement undertakings that Natural England has accepted relating to Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Natural England has issued 2 completion certificates. In response to non-compliance with enforcement undertakings relating to SSSIs, Natural England has not served any civil sanctions or undertaken any criminal proceedings. Natural England is nevertheless planning to undertake comprehensive compliance/success monitoring of their enforcement undertaking outcomes in the forthcoming field season. COVID-19 restrictions may impact this work but where necessary enforcement visits will continue to ensure that our protected sites are looked after in an appropriate manner. In monitoring compliance with stop notices, Natural England takes a risk based approach. Where non-compliance has been suspected this has been subject to further investigation. In regard to the five Stop Notices in respect of which completion certificates have not been issued, further enforcement action was not found to be necessary. In the one case where non-compliance was discovered, the offender was able to be swiftly brought back into compliance through advice. Information on Natural England enforcement action is available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-enforcement-action-taken-by-natural-england).

Sites of Special Scientific Interest: Nature Conservation

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times Natural England has used the statutory powers provided by (a) Management Schemes under section 28J of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, (b) Management Notices under section 28K of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, (c) Compulsory Purchase under section 28N of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and (d) Byelaws under section 28R of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to conserve Sites of Special Scientific Interest since those powers came into force on 31 January 2001.

Rebecca Pow: Since the 31 January 2001, Natural England has used the statutory powers provided by management schemes under section 28J of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (the Act) on nine occasions; management notices under section 28K of the Act have been used on one occasion; compulsory purchase under section 28N and byelaws under section 28R of the Act have not been used.

Zoo Animals Fund

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 8 February 2021, Official Report, column 134, which aspects of the Zoo Animals Fund are currently under active review; and what changes to the support available for zoos and aquariums are being considered.

Victoria Prentis: I am aware of the pressure that the current coronavirus restrictions are placing on zoos and recognise this has been an extremely tough time for the sector. I would like to assure zoos that we remain committed to ensuring the sector can deliver the best possible care for its animals and we are currently considering options. We keep all aspects of the Zoo Animals Fund constantly under review to ensure that it is meeting its aims. Changes that we have made include extending the criteria to include maintenance costs, easing the evidence requirement for these maintenance claims, introducing the ability to apply ahead of reaching 12 weeks reserves and most recently extending the application deadline for the Zoo Animals Fund to 26 February 2021. We have ongoing communications with the sector to ensure updated information is shared as soon as situations change. For now, we urge any zoos in need of support to put in an application.

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks: Public Appointments

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to appointments of new members to England's National Park Authorities and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Conservation Boards in July 2020, what proportion of (a) applicants, (b) interviewees, (c) candidates shortlisted for the Secretary of State’s consideration and (d) appointees had (i) had skills and experience in nature conservation, (ii) were female, (iii) were under 65, (iv) identified as members of a black, Asian or minority ethnicity and (v) considered themselves disabled.

Rebecca Pow: 186 applications were received for the 18 National Park Authorities and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Conservation Board public appointments made in July 2020. The candidate field is summarised in the table below.Percentage with characteristicApplicants %Interviewees %Candidates shortlisted for the Secretary of State’s consideration %Appointees %Skills and experience in nature conservation16%26%27%28%Female37%48%50%50%Under 6574%75%88%83%Identified as a black, Asian or minority ethnicity (BAME)3%**0%Declared a disability6%8%** * Where the numbers are less than five, data is withheld, since with small numbers individuals could be identified. This is in line with the Data Protection Act 2018. Applicants that identified as BAME and declared a disability were shortlisted for the Secretary of State’s consideration. No BAME candidates were appointed.

Home Office

Gambling: Crime

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the correlation between rates of problem gambling and levels of (a) acquisitive and (b) violent crime.

Kit Malthouse: Rates of problem gambling have remained stable at around or below 1% of the adult population since 1999. The Government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December 2020 with the publication of a Call for Evidence. The Review will be wide-ranging and evidence-led, aiming to ensure that the regulation of gambling is fit for the digital age and will consider how effective the regulatory framework is in preventing gambling-related crime, alongside other outcome measures.

Offences against Children

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many sexual offences were committed against minors in each of the last five years.

Victoria Atkins: The latest published crime stats can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingseptember2020/relateddata (Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables, Table A4) and please see below for a table of recorded CSA offences for the last five financial years, up to March 2020. Offence codeOffenceApr '15 to Mar '16Apr '16 to Mar '17Apr '17 to Mar '18Apr '18 to Mar '19*Apr' 19 to Mar' 20*  19DRape of a female child under 165,3215,9897,6227,3876,779 19ERape of a female child under 134,3274,5395,4835,3864,771 19GRape of a male child under 16692839889907923 19HRape of a male child under 131,8532,1652,5712,4422,143 17BSexual assault on a male child under 132,6563,3683,8023,5453,519 20BSexual assault on a female child under 137,5018,1349,7139,4859,164 21Sexual activity involving a child under 135,9457,9068,6339,1239,260 22BSexual activity involving a child under 1611,51513,33514,76314,75214,217 71Abuse of children through sexual exploitation (formerly prostitution or pornography)5716291,192956894 73Abuse of position of trust of a sexual nature239273285268340 88ASexual grooming9631,1584,4495,3345,878 86Obscene publications, etc and protected sexual material**13,03718,82623,13623,85925,311 Total CSA offences54,62067,16182,53883,44483,199 * Figures for Greater Manchester are not included for the years ending March 2019 and 2020 due to data supply issues.** Obscene publications is used as a proxy for indecent images of children offences.

Gambling: Crime

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people suffering from a gambling disorder who have come into contact with the criminal justice system.

Kit Malthouse: The Home Office does not hold information on individuals who come into contact with the police to ascertain whether a gambling disorder has been identified as a motivational factor in any alleged offences committed. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the court system and their centrally-held data does not identify where gambling has been identified as a relevant motivational factor in offending. The information may be held on court records, however to identify such cases would require accessing individual court records which would be of disproportionate cost.

Gambling: Crime

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing (a) per play limits, (b) daily deposit limits and (c) other affordability measures to reduce levels of offending among the problem gambling community.

Kit Malthouse: I have not undertaken an assessment. Rates of problem gambling have remained stable at around or below 1% of the adult population since 1999. The Government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December 2020 with the publication of a Call for Evidence. The Review will be wide-ranging and evidence-led, aiming to ensure that the regulation of gambling is fit for the digital age and will consider how effective the regulatory framework is in preventing gambling-related crime, alongside other outcome measures.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of EU citizens still to apply for settled status; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Foster: The latest published information on EU Settlement Scheme applications received can be found on the Home Office’s ‘EU Settlement Scheme statistics’ web page available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/eu-settlement-scheme-statisticsThe total number of applications received up to 31 January 2021 was 5.06 million (5,060,600).The published figures refer specifically to applications made to the EU Settlement Scheme and cannot be directly compared with estimates of the resident population of EU/EEA nationals in the UK.The published figures include non-EEA family members, Irish nationals, and eligible EEA citizens not resident in the UK, none of whom are usually included in estimates of the resident EU population.Furthermore, the population estimates do not take account of people’s migration intentions and will include people who have come to the UK for a range of purposes, including some who have no intention to settle permanently in the UK

Dogs: Theft

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle dog theft.

Kit Malthouse: I refer my Rt Hon Friend to the answer I gave to a question from the Hon Member for Newport East (UIN 142846).

Burglary

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of reported burglaries in (a) the London borough of Barnet and (b) England.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent comparative assessment she has made of the level of crime in the Hendon constituency and other London constituencies.

Kit Malthouse: The Government recognises the particularly invasive nature of domestic burglary and the impact crimes can have on victims. That is why we are committed to cutting crime, keeping our streets safe and restoring public confidence in the criminal justice system.The Home Office collects data from police forces on police recorded crime, broken down by Police Force Area and Community Safety Partnership Area, including the London borough of Barnet. Data is not collected at parliamentary constituency level.The latest data, including the number of recorded offences of Burglary can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables.Alongside ongoing work with the police, industry leads and partners to examine what more can be done to prevent crime; on the 28 January the Government launched the second round of the Safer Streets Fund. The Fund now totalling £45 million, supports communities in England and Wales that are disproportionately affected by crimes such as domestic burglary to implement well evidenced crime prevention initiatives, such as improved street lighting and home security.In order to tackle levels of crime, both in London Constituencies and across the rest of England and Wales, and to help ensure the police have the resources they need, the Government has funded an additional 20,000 police officers to support the efforts of existing forces and organisations in England and Wales. Specifically, the Metropolitan Police Service has been allocated an additional 1,369 officers in the first year of the police uplift, covering the period to the end of March 2021, however the deployment of these officers is an operational decision for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

Police: Harlow

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers have been employed in Harlow in each year since the financial year 2018-19.

Kit Malthouse: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce by Police Force Area in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin.Data are collected at Police Force Area level only, and lower levels of geography such as Harlow are not held by the Home Office.The latest available data for the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) officers employed in each Police Force Area, covering the situation as at 30 September 2020, are available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales

Housing: Insulation

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that disabled people living in buildings with dangerous cladding have a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate the Government has made of the number of people with disabilities living in buildings with ACM cladding without a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to ensure that residents with accessibility needs and disabilities living in properties with dangerous cladding have a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to support people with (a) visible and (b) hidden disabilities to obtain a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan, particularly in buildings with fire safety problems.

Kit Malthouse: The Government has taken major steps to ensure all residents in high-rise blocks are safe since Grenfell. Data on the number of vulnerable persons living in residential blocks with ACM cladding is not collected. However, the Government has announced an unprecedented level of investment of £3.5bn to protect leaseholders from the cost of replacing unsafe cladding in residential buildings 18 metres and over in England. Those in lower-rise buildings, between 11 and 18 metres, will also be protected from the costs of cladding removal with a generous new finance scheme which will mean they will not have to pay more than £50 per month towards this remediation. This Government’s commitment to implementing the Grenfell Inquiry’s recommendations remains undimmed and we are doing everything in our power to implement them in the most practical and effective way. It is important that we get this right and ensure the voice of residents and those likely to be affected by the proposals such as those with accessibility needs and disabilities, are heard. That is why we have decided to undertake a further consultation this spring on the complex issue of personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs). This new PEEPs consultation will build on the responses provided to the earlier consultation and will inform the Government’s final decisions on how to implement the PEEPs recommendations so that they are driven by effectiveness and ultimately, ensure that all people are safe from fire in high-rise multi-occupied buildings.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Public Appointments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, who was on the selection panel for the appointment of (a) Paul Willmott as Chair of the Central Digital and Data Office, (b) Joanna Davinson as Executive Director of the Central Digital and Data Office and (c) Tom Read as the new Chief Executive Officer of Government Digital Service.

Julia Lopez: Tom Read was appointed as CEO of Government Digital Service following an external recruitment overseen by the Civil Service Commission. The selection panel included the Civil Service Chief Operating Officer, the Director General for Digital and Media Policy, Jacqueline De Rojas, and a Civil Service Commissioner.Joanna Davinson was transferred within the Civil Service, and Paul Willmott was a direct appointment to an advisory role.

Treasury

Directors: Coronavirus

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce additional specific measures to compensate for directors' of limited companies loss of earnings during the covid-19 outbreak.

Jesse Norman: The Government has provided substantial levels of support throughout this crisis to support people’s jobs and livelihoods, and to support businesses and public services across the UK, spending over £280 billion over the last year. Directors who pay themselves a salary through a PAYE scheme are eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). However, some directors pay themselves in large part through dividends, while taking a small salary.  Dividends are not covered by this scheme nor by the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).  This is because income from dividends is a return on investment in the company, rather than wages. Under HMRC’s current reporting mechanisms it is not possible to distinguish between dividends derived from an individual’s own company and dividends from other sources.The Government continues to work closely with stakeholders to explore how it can support different groups. The Government has engaged with various proposals put forward by stakeholder groups to assess if any are viable, and it continues to review these proposals to ensure they overcome the fundamental issues of protecting taxpayer money and safeguarding against fraud and abuse from organised criminals and others who would seek to exploit these schemes. Individuals who are not eligible for the CJRS or SEISS may be eligible for other Government support. The Government has boosted the generosity of the welfare system through a temporary £20 a week increase in the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element. The Government has also increased the Local Housing Allowance rates for Housing Benefit and Universal Credit. Other support measures include rental support, mortgage holidays, enhanced Statutory Sick Pay and council tax support through local authorities.

Revenue and Customs: Offices

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that local tax offices are based in town centres.

Jesse Norman: HMRC are committed to their strategy, announced in 2015, of moving to 13 regional centres, all within Government hubs, in city centre locations where the majority of their staff are already based. This is key to HMRC’s and wider Government’s transformation and is aligned with the Places for Growth Programme. Customer services will not be reduced by the closure of offices. HMRC had already closed their enquiry centres in 2014. Currently almost all business customers deal with the department online and, in 2020, 94 per cent of Self-Assessment returns were filed digitally. In addition to dealing with enquiries by telephone, HMRC have set up an Extra Support Team, providing assistance to taxpayers who need extra help. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, HMRC are unable to offer face to face appointments at this time, but they continue to serve taxpayers through other communication channels. Evidence from customer satisfaction survey results confirms that taxpayers, particularly those who would have satisfied the criteria for a face to face appointment, are happy with these alternative services.

Local Press: Non-domestic Rates

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to extend Business Rates Relief to local news publishers.

Jesse Norman: The Government recognises that local newspapers are at the heart of civic life for communities. In order to support them, at Budget 2020 the Government extended the duration of the £1,500 local newspaper office space discount for a further five years. This year the Government has provided an unprecedented business rates holiday for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties due to the direct adverse effects of COVID-19, worth over £10 billion, and has frozen the business rates multiplier for all businesses for 2021-22. The Government has provided various schemes to support firms, including wholesalers, including Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans, Bounce Back Loans, grants and VAT deferrals. The Budget will set out the next phase of the Government’s plans to tackle the virus, protect jobs and support business.

Coronavirus: Government Assistance

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people with trading profits of over £50,000 per annum and therefore ineligible for support from the Government during the covid-19 outbreak.

Jesse Norman: By 31 December 2020, 186,000 individuals have been assessed as ineligible for the third SEISS grant as their trading profits are over £50,000 per annum. This figure was taken from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme statistics published on 28 January 2021: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/self-employment-income-support-scheme-statistics-january-2021.

Advertising: Tax Allowances

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing tax credits to encourage advertisers to use UK media.

Jesse Norman: The Government keeps all tax policy under review and regularly receives proposals for sector-specific tax reliefs. When considering any new tax reliefs, HM Treasury must ensure they provide support to businesses across the economy in a fair way and represent good value for money for the taxpayer.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Jessica Morden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much in interest payments on Time to Pay arrangements has been (a) billed, (b) recovered and (c) sent to debt collection agencies by his Department since the start of the covid-19 pandemic.

Jesse Norman: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

National Insurance: Cost of Living

Robert Halfon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the increased national insurance threshold on the cost of living for residents of (a) Harlow constituency and (b) the UK.

Jesse Norman: In April 2020 the Government increased the Primary Threshold (PT) and the Lower Profits Limit (LPL), the point at which employees and the self-employed start paying the main rate of National Insurance contributions, by over £850 to £9,500. While HM Treasury does not publish tax information at constituency level, at the national level this was a tax cut for 31 million working people, saving the typical employee about £104 and a typical self-employed person about £78 in 2020/21. From April 2021, the PT/LPL will increase to £9,568.

Customs: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to extend the customs exemption period beyond the deadline of 31 March 2021 for goods entering into Northern Ireland via Great Britain.

Jesse Norman: The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has written to the European Commission in relation to the implementation of aspects of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The letter has been published on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-from-the-chancellor-of-the-duchy-of-lancaster-to-the-vice-president-of-the-european-commission-2-february-2021.

UK Trade with EU: VAT

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the economic effect on British importers of VAT charges on imported goods from the EU.

Jesse Norman: VAT has historically been charged on goods imported into the UK from the EU. What has changed since 1 January 2021 is the way in which that VAT is collected. As with all tax measures, where new changes have been introduced, the Government includes its assessment of the impacts of the changes in Tax Information and Impact Notes. Notes for measures recently legislated for in the Taxation (Post-transition Period) Act were published alongside that legislation.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Local Press: Coronavirus

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on the effect of reduced advertising revenues during the covid-19 outbreak on local newspapers.

Mr John Whittingdale: The Government recognises the vital role of local newspapers in supporting communities and local democracy through their provision of reliable, high-quality information. The government has been engaging closely with the sector, including publishers present in Slough, and with market experts to continue to inform our understanding of the financial pressures the industry has been facing, including with respect to the reduction in advertising revenues, and the impact of this on business continuity. Many local newspapers have been able to benefit from a unique and unprecedented government advertising partnership, designed to deliver important messages to UK citizens. Newspapers received up to £35 million additional government advertising revenue as part of the first phase of our coronavirus communications campaign. The campaign has subsequently been extended with at least 60% funding going to smaller regional and local titles.We are aware that the pandemic has had a significant effect on many local newspapers and, in some cases, has led publishers to make difficult decisions with regard to title closures or suspensions and staff redundancies. We will maintain our dialogue with the sector as the situation continues to develop, ensuring that we have the information needed to inform the development of effective support measures.

Local Press: Coronavirus

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment has he made of the effect of (a) suspension and (b) permanent closure of local newspapers during the covid-19 outbreak on local democracy.

Mr John Whittingdale: The Government recognises the vital role of local newspapers in supporting communities and local democracy through their provision of reliable, high-quality information. On 6 October last year, the government published Research into Recent Dynamics of the Press Sector in the UK and Globally, a report on the importance of newspaper provision to local communities which explored the impact of suspensions and closures on local democracy. The research, which was conducted before the onset of Covid-19, found that changes in news provision and consumption over time had a direct impact on participation levels in local elections in England, underlining the vital importance of a sustainable local news industry to a properly functioning democracy.Throughout the pandemic, I have kept in close contact with stakeholders from across the sector to understand the financial pressures they have been facing and how these are impacting business continuity. We do not hold comprehensive figures on the number of titles suspended or closed but are continuing to develop our understanding of the impact of Covid-19-related title closures and suspensions on local news provision and democratic engagement in the light of the findings of our research.

Young People: Coronavirus

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the findings of the Jack Petchey report entitled, Shaping our Future - The Covid-19 Youth Survey.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the findings of the Jack Petchey report entitled, Shaping our Future - The Covid-19 Youth Survey.

Mr John Whittingdale: The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with Cabinet Colleagues on the findings of the Jack Petchey report, Shaping our Future - The Covid-19 Youth Survey.The Government recognises the significant impact of Covid-19 on young people and the important role of youth services in supporting them. We have supported the development of specific Covid-19 guidance for the youth sector, which has helped tens of thousands of organisations feel confident in safely delivering vital services to young people.We also recognise that young people have an important role to play in the nation’s recovery from the pandemic. Since the beginning of March, Government ministers have continued to engage directly with young people, through our youth engagement programme, on the impacts of Covid-19, from employment support to mental health and loneliness.We are also engaging with young people as part of DCMS’ Youth Review, announced by HM Treasury as part of the 2020 Spending Review. Their views will help to set a clear direction for the out-of-school youth agenda.

Public Libraries

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many new libraries have been opened in the last five years.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many libraries have closed in the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage: The Libraries Taskforce published the 'Public libraries in England: extended dataset' on 11 January 2018 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-libraries-in-england-basic-dataset#history) provides details of static libraries (statutory and non-statutory) in England as at 1 April 2010 and 1 July 2016, and includes information on permanent library closures, as well as new libraries opening.Details relating to static libraries as at 31 December 2019 has been collected by Arts Council England and will be published shortly.

Social Media: Antisemitism

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of advising Ofcom as the Government’s intended social media regulator to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism and ensure that social media companies comply with it to help tackle the increase in online antisemitic attacks.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government is committed to tackling racism, including the spread of antisemitic content online. In December 2020, we published the Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation, which sets out new expectations on companies to keep their users safe online. Under a new legal duty of care, in-scope companies, including social media, will need to tackle illegal antisemitic content and activity on their services.In addition, companies providing high-risk, high-reach services will need to set clear terms and conditions stating what legal but harmful material they accept (and do not accept) on their service. This may include antisemitic hate speech, which does not meet the threshold of a criminal offence. Companies will need to enforce these terms and conditions consistently and transparently, and could face enforcement action if they do not. All companies in scope will be required to have effective and accessible user reporting and redress mechanisms.The Online Safety Bill, which will give effect to the regulatory framework outlined in the Full Government Response, including the appointment of Ofcom as the regulator, will be ready this year. There are no plans to specify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.

National League: Coronavirus

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the £10 million grant to National League clubs in steps 4-6 in supporting them through and beyond this lockdown period.

Nigel Huddleston: On 27th January 2021, the government confirmed that Steps 3-6 of the National League System will receive up to £10 million of grant support from the Sports Winter Survival Package. This is designed to protect the immediate future of approximately 850 clubs over the winter period. This support is being distributed at pace by the Football Foundation and is available with immediate effect.

Press: Coronavirus

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to introduce sector-specific financial support for (a) public interest journalism and (b) local newspapers affected by the covid-19 outbreak.

Mr John Whittingdale: The government recognises the vital role of newspapers in supporting communities and democracy at a local and national level through ensuring the provision of reliable, high-quality information.We understand the acute financial pressures newspapers have been facing due to steep drops in advertising revenues and the particular implications of lockdowns on print circulation. To support news publishers to date, the government has introduced a series measures including the extension of business rates relief for local newspapers in England for an additional five years; and the zero-rating of VAT on e-newspapers, which was brought forward to May 2020 in response to the effects of the pandemic. The introduction of further Covid-19-related financial support is the responsibility of the Treasury.Many newspapers have benefitted from a unique and unprecedented government advertising partnership, designed to deliver important messages to UK citizens. Newspapers received up to £35 million additional government advertising revenue as part of the first phase of our coronavirus communications campaign. The campaign has since been extended, with at least 60% funding going to smaller regional and local titles. Some publishers have also made use of wider government measures as well, such as the job-retention scheme which we have extended until the end of April 2021.Longer term, we will continue to consider all possible options in the interests of promoting and sustaining high-quality news journalism, including pursuing options for financial support such as funding for innovation in the sector and tax reliefs.

Cultural Heritage

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to measure Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government fully recognises the contribution that the UK’s oral traditions, social practices and festive events make to the country’s cultural fabric. While it is not possible to measure all intangible heritage, as it is constantly evolving, there are many programmes to help communities continue to practice those traditions which are important to them. For example, organisations such as Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund provide grants for community organisations to support such intangible customs as traditional craft skills, languages and artistic expressions.